Staffordshire Police say that you may have seen increased local coverage on the topic of knives over the past week as we’re currently working with partners to promote the Ditch the Blade campaign.
To reassure you, 99% of young people aged 10 to 29 don’t carry a knife, so it’s not a common thing.
However, we know that some young people may feel pressured to carry, or may carry due to fear, so we’re encouraging everyone to have a conversation with the young people in their lives to make them aware of the potential risks and consequences, so they can make an informed decision to Ditch the Blade.
The following may be of help for your conversations, so I wanted to share this information with you.
Knife banks for the anonymous disposal of knives
Since the last campaign, we now have more knife bank locations across Staffordshire enabling the anonymous disposal of knives. You can check where your nearest location is by viewing the map on our website: https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/police-forces/staffordshire-police/areas/staffordshire-police/campaigns/2021/ditchtheblade/
You can also take a knife to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre (Tip) for disposal if you do not have a knife amnesty bank nearby.
If you’re dropping off a knife at a knife bank, or a recycling centre, please make sure it’s suitably wrapped and secure for your journey.
New Ditch the Blade podcast
To help communities understand the local situation when it comes to knives, we’re sharing the views of three different organisations through a new podcast about knife crime. The conversation features representatives from:
· Staffordshire Police Violence Reduction Team
· Catch 22
· Stoke on Trent Youth Offending Service.
The podcast explores the educational and operational work happening in partnership across the county to tackle knife crime, looking at who is most likely to carry a knife, why they may choose to do this, common signs to spot and what we’re doing as a partnership to tackle this important issue.
You can listen now by following this link: https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/police-forces/staffordshire-police/areas/staffordshire-police/campaigns/2020/the-beat-podcast/
If you’d like to know more about the Ditch the Blade campaign, please visit our website: https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/ditchtheblade
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